In the care of floor surfaces in various commercial, governmental and industrial building facilities, it has been the conventional practice for janitorial personnel to periodically strip the floor surfaces in such facilities of a previously applied protective polish, apply several coats of a liquid polish, usually a polymer composition, allow the liquid polish to dry and then buff the dried polish to provide a lustrous, protective finish. Such floor surfaces typically consist of wooden, resilient tile, ceramic tile and even cement surfaces which are intended to be protected and provide an aesthetic and pleasing appearance. In applying the liquid polish, it further has been the conventional practice to use a wet-type or flat-type mop or applicator for uniformly spreading the liquid polish on the floor surface. Such polish must be uniformly spread and allowed to dry before the buffing operation. Usually, several coats of polish are applied and allowed to dry prior to the buffing operation. The buffing typically is performed by high speed machines equipped with rotary brushes which engage and buff a thin coat of dried polish to provide a lustrous finish.
Typically, wet-type or flat-type applicators used by janitorial personnel in spreading the liquid polish on floor surfaces essentially consist of a handle and a bundle or flat array of yarns attached to the handle. Such yarns traditionally have consisted of spun, natural staples or fibers of perhaps wool or cotton having individual lengths of up to six to seven inches.
When applicators of the type utilizing yarns of spun staples or fibers are used in spreading liquid polish on floor surfaces in the procedure as described, it has been found that breaks or voids occur in the finished, polished surface. It further has been found that such breaks or voids result from staples or fibers of spun yarn applicators breaking or tearing loose from applicator yarns and becoming entrapped in the dried coat of polish applied to the floor surface. Because of the often greater thickness of the staples or fibers than the thickness of the dried coat of polish on the floor surface, the high speed rotation of the buffing brushes will engage and strip away the exposed staples, leaving a break or void in the finished, polished coating on the floor surface. The stripping of such entrapped staples or fibers not only detracts from the aesthetic appearance of a lustrous floor surface but exposes the underlying floor material to the deleterious effects of scuffing and the elements.
It thus has been found to be desirable to provide an applicator for spreading a liquid polish on a floor surface which is to be allowed to dry and be buffed to a lustrous finish, in which components of the applicator will not break or tear loose during the use of the applicator in spreading the liquid polish on the floor surface and become entrapped in the dried polish, to be stripped away during the buffing operation and thus leave a break or void in the finished floor surface.